There are basically two types of jewelry which can be worn on the ears. There is jewelry which is simply clipped to the ear, and there are earrings which are fastened to the ear by means of an attachment which passes through a perforation in the ear lobe.
Jewelry of the latter type is generally fastened by means of a so-called earring pin which can be removed from the ear. This pin is pushed through the perforation and fastened behind the lobe. Ear pendants are also made on the same principle. However, in the case of the pendant, the pin is fitted to a small yoke and the piece of jewelry is permanently mounted on this yoke.
If the yoke is fastened directly to the jewelry by means of movable components, so that the yoke takes the function of the pin and can thus be inserted through the perforated lobe, this arrangement is termed a creole. In this case the yoke fastens firmly into the piece of jewelry to which it is then positively clasped.
Finally, earrings are known which are fitted with releasable fastenings. These fastenings are similar to those used on necklaces and are not integral with the earring itself. A ring-shaped fastening with a sliding latch or clasp is passed through the perforation, while the earring itself is suspended from the actual fastening, just like a pendant.
Unlike earrings fitted with pins, pendants, creoles and ear clips are today considered aesthetically unpleasing. With the exception of ear clips, all the types of fastenings used for these types of jewelry are impractical. When attachments comprising a number of different parts have to be fastened, as in the case of earrings with pins, in particular, parts get lost or, in the case of jewelry fitted with movable components, the latches can jam.